Aditya Birla Group : Redefining the Brand "INDIA" - Jino John, NMIMS Mumbai

Aditya Birla fashion and retail remains as India’s largest fashion retail company which sells 3 garments every second. Pantaloons clothing retail chain in my neighbourhood (R-Mall Mulund) offers me the best options of branded clothing with reasonable pricing. It has been rightly voted as India’s most trusted apparel retail brand. It also has a collection of the Aditya Birla group’s high quality clothing brands like Louis Phillipe, Peter England and Allen Solly. These are aspirational brands for me. I still remember my first Louis Phillipe shirt that I bought for myself from my first salary. The Peter England shirts that I had bought for my Dad during his birthday is another one of those sweet cherished memories.

UltraTech cement has truly been the “Engineer’s choice” for me. UltraTech cement along with products from Hindalco aluminium has been used extensively during construction works in my native place.

The technological institutes operating under Aditya Birla namely BITS Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai are one of the most sought after institutes for engineering aspirants. It was one of the colleges that I aspired to get into.

Also, the conglomerate’s focus on sustainability is evident through their 75MW windmill project in Dhule, Maharashtra which is set up by Essel India Mining Industries.

The company is also the world’s biggest manufacturer of carbon black (which is used in tyres and ink) and also has digital bank “Aditya Birla Payments bank” and their own mutual funds and insurance company “Aditya Birla Capital”.

I have also been associated with the brands of other Birla groups. These include Hindustan times newspapers that I read every day (part of KK Birla group), Orient table fans (part of CK Birla group) and Ambassadors which were a symbol of pride for my parents during their childhood days (part of Hindustan motors which is a part of BM Birla Group).

In addition to all those mentioned above, MP Birla Library (Mumbai), Birla Planetarium (Kolkata), Birla Global University (Odisha), MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research (Research Institute), Textile Institute in Bhiwani, Birla House (New Delhi), Gandhi Smriti (the martyrdom site of Mahatma Gandhi), 15+ temples (including the Laxminarayan temple in New Delhi), 20+ hospitals, 5000+ free medical camps, 56+ schools (with 20000+ children) are just some of the ways in which Aditya Birla group is contributing towards developing India.

In short, I believe that the Aditya Birla group has really “taken India to the world” and “The future is exciting. Ready”.

• How I overcame challenges to achieve my ambitions in life so far. 

Giving public speeches might be a cakewalk for some and a dread for others. Personally, I have seen this journey of how a weakness can also be a point of strength if one constantly works on them. Its ultimately about getting “inspired every day” and taking one step at a time to reach your final destination. My ambition was to improve on my public speaking skills.

Being an introvert boy during my school days made it difficult for me to give public speeches in front of large audiences. I remember going blank in front of the class during recital of the poem “Daffodils” as part of the round 2 in poem recital competition. Another instance was when I had to give an extempore on “music” in front of the class as part of 10^th viva evaluation. I couldn’t speak more than 2 sentences. I always had this desire in me that I should work towards my public speaking skills and that is what I consciously worked upon during my under-graduation days.

I knew I had to conquer this fear step by step. I had an inclination towards dance. So, I took part in group dance competitions which helped me reduce my stage fright to a great extent. I also got appreciated by my colleagues during dance in the various college parties. This also boosted my confidence level. Taking part in sports competitions also helped in handling stressful situations better. I also used to actively take part in technical paper presentation competitions in various colleges across Mumbai. A major breakthrough was when I got to represent my college and present my paper in the national level seminar with international participation conducted by Institute of Engineers India. Giving presentation in front of esteemed dignitaries and defending my suggestions of how to reduce pollution content in flue gases released by Thermal power plants in front of PHD holders opened new dimensions in my learning and development. Later on I also became part of the IEEE student council managing various events and activities in college where I had to make announcements on stage. I also got to represent the IEEE body of my college in the IEEE Bombay Section event. I have observed that during my work at Jacobs, I have been constantly praised for my floor talks. I have also received good feedback on my communication skills which include presentation and public speaking skills. I have realized that I have reached a point in my career where I look towards opportunities of being on stage.

#NMIMSMumbai  #ABGLPWooMe